The HotUKdeals picture was condemned by the US-based National Association of Airline Passengers.

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Douglas Kidd, executive director, said: "If I was working for BA I'd be very hurt and upset.

"It sounds like some sort of joke, I can't believe that someone couldn't find a different picture to use.

"There's plenty of pictures of BA planes around, they've got a good and long history, so I can't believe they were being serious when they selected this one.

"Fortunately no one lost their life but it could have turned out really badly and I don't think that's something to joke about.

"It strikes me as someone's idea of a joke, everyone has a different sense of humour, but I think this was done in quite bad taste."

The Advertising Standards Agency confirmed said there had not yet been any formal complaints about the advert.

They added: "All UK ads have to stick to the Advertising Codes which apply across media and require that ads don't contain anything that's likely to mislead, harm or offend."

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HotUKdeals apologised for any offence the image had caused and said they would review their policy to ensure it didn't happen again.

A spokesman said: "HotUKDeals is a social channel where members of the public share deals and information on the site to help people save money and our members are responsible for what they post as per our Privacy Policy.

"The image in question was posted by one of our users in the early hours of the morning and it was removed by a member of our moderation team shortly after as being unsuitable.

"As well as deal threads on the site we also have a daily newsletter, which automatically sends the most popular deals to members who opt in to receive it.

"Unfortunately, due to the automation of this process, the original deal image was used, despite it already being removed from the site.

"We apologise for any upset that this has caused and we will be reviewing our automated communication processes to ensure something like this does not happen again."